Creating Music Based on Quantitative Data from Variable Stars

Volume 46 number 2 (2018)

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Cristian A. Droppelmann

Robarts Research Institute, Western University, 1151 Richmond Street, London, Ontario N6A 5B7, Canada; cdroppel@uwo.ca

Ronald E. Mennickent

Astronomy Department, Universidad de Concepción, Casilla 160-C, Concepción, Chile; rmennick@udec.cl

Abstract

In this work we show a technique that allows for the musical interpretation of the brightness variations of stars. This method allows composers a lot of freedom to incorporate their own ideas into the score, based on the melodic line generated from the quantitative data obtained from the stars. There are a wide number of possible applications for this technique, including avant-garde music creation, teaching, and promotion of the association between music and science.